The second “Hana Yori Dango” series, which aired on TBS in 2007 to massive ratings, concluded with a storybook ending—leaving the oft-sabotaged lovers Tsukushi Makino (Mao Inoue) and Tsukasa Domyoji (Arashi’s Jun Matsumoto) quite happy together and engaged following their senior prom. That probably would have been a perfectly legitimate spot to end the story; but if you’ve got a cash cow on your hands, one final harebrained adventure before the marriage ceremony surely can’t hurt. As expected, Hana Yori Dango: Final raked it in at the box office earlier this year, catering to female fans of all age groups by rehashing the whole “on-again, off-again” theme of the main couple’s relationship. Unfortunately, the extreme concentration on romance may alienate fans who enjoyed the original series more for its comedy and wacky cast of side-characters—none of whom really get a fair shake in the theatrical cut. On the other hand, if you’re in it for the romance and sappy love confession moments, this film may just make your head explode with glee.

The TV series involved “tough weed” poor girl Tsukushi Makino’s plight as she attended the ultra rich Eitoku Academy and simply tried to muddle through without knocking out some of her gaudy classmates. This plan failed miserably when she met Tsukasa Domyoji, the arrogant leader of F4: a group of obscenely rich heirs to family fortunes that made the other rich kids at the school seem like paupers in comparison. F4 had a policy of making life hell for anyone that dared cross them, doling out “red notices” which meant everyone at the school had the right to harass and pummel the person in question until they changed their attitude or disappeared. However, when Makino earned a red notice she refused to succumb to either option. In typical shojo manga form, this led to a love triangle involving Makino, Domyoji, and Rui Hanazawa (Shun Oguri)—with Domyoji eventually winning her heart. From that point on, various characters would attempt to sabotage the couple in the most absurd ways possible, sometimes risking everyone’s lives in the process. Then, without fail, F4 would swoop in at the last possible moment and save the day (usually with lots of money). The film doesn’t stray from this formula at all; it simply repeats it with a few more explosions and action scenes thrown in to justify the theatrical treatment it was given.

Picking up sometime after graduation, the film begins as Makino is becoming a celebrity due to her engagement to the heir of Domyoji Holdings. Her “average girl” face is plastered all over magazines and television and her family history is being pried into by just about every entertainment and business reporter in the world. She’s definitely not comfortable with her newfound celebrity, but Domyoji assures her everything will be fine. Reinforcing this belief, his diabolical mother—who spent the better part of two television seasons manipulating everyone and trying to undermine the relationship—seems to finally be happy for the couple as she offers Makino a family heirloom: a tiara called “The Smile of Venus”.

That night, Makino and Domyoji finally have a chance to spend some time alone together in their hotel room when a man in black suddenly bursts through their window and steals the tiara. An over-the-top chase/fight scene ensues, culminating with the crook jumping off the roof onto a helicopter to escape. If that wasn’t strange enough, when they get back to their room they notice the window has been completely replaced and all employees of the hotel deny they noticed anything out of the ordinary happening. Obviously they’re caught up in some sort of conspiracy, and there’s no telling who’s involved. With that, hot-headed Domyoji decides that they have to find the tiara themselves if they want to be able to go through with the wedding. The couple then embarks on a journey that will take them around the world, from Las Vegas to Hong Kong and the seas of the South Pacific. Makino can’t help but wonder if all the turmoil she gets put through to be with Domyoji is actually worth it, but tough weeds don’t give up that easily.

Ultimately, “Hana Yori Dango: Final” is more about fan appeasement than mass appeal to an uninitiated audience. I don’t think there’s any question that you should probably see the original series before watching it; people who aren’t already invested in the relationship of Makino and Domyoji simply won’t care what happens to them. Notable characters from the series also pop up from time to time, and if you don’t know their history it will all just seem kind of strange and pointless. Also, if you’re not already immune to how freaking bizarre the diabolical schemes hatched by some of those characters were, the way the movie’s plot finally unfolds may seem more than a little far-fetched. However, fans will recognize these leaps in logic as just another day at the office for Makino and Domyoji.

Unfortunately, in concentrating on wrapping up the love story, a lot of what made the characters interesting in the series has been lost. Makino is now more of a hapless sidekick than the tough poor girl that had to stick up for herself to survive. Domyoji is still amusingly dense, but the metamorphosis he went through during the span of the TV series has made him more of a hopeless romantic than the arrogant jerk he once was. I suppose if he had stayed exactly the same this would qualify as an emotional abuse romcom, but the couple’s new dynamic is a bit watered down after two years of nearly constant strife.

That being said, fans who enjoyed the series for its Cinderella-like theme do get the payoff they’re probably looking for. And in this case, the girl not only gets the guy, but totally changes him along the way. How’s that for fantasy-fulfillment?

Related Entries:

Tags: aki fukada, aki nishihara, david ito, emiko matsuoka, erina, hana yori dango final, hiromasa taguchi, jun matsumoto, kinya kitaoji, mako ishino, mao inoue, mariko kaga, mayumi sada, megumi sato, naohito fujiki, naoto takenaka, natsuki kato, satoshi tomiura, shingo tsurumi, shota matsuda, shun oguri, sumie sasaki, susumu kobayashi, takako katoh, tomohiro kaku, tsuyoshi abe, yasuharu ishii